“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
Henry Ward Beecher
#contemporaryart
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#FloralPainting
#TheSecretGardenSeries
#ArtWithMeaning
#BotanicalArt
#ColorInspiration
#artandsoul
I continue to be inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s words:
“The only journey is the one within.”
As I painted, I thought about how art invites us to pause and look inward, searching for meaning in color, form, and silence. Each brushstroke becomes a meditation on what it means to be present, to wonder, and to embrace the unknown.
#contemporaryart
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#FloralPainting
#TheSecretGardenSeries
#ArtWithMeaning
#botanicalart
Lately, I’ve been captivated by blue.
If you asked me my favorite color, I’d still say Alizarin Crimson, that deep, translucent, dramatic red has always stirred something in me.
But blue… blue transports me. It’s like stepping into another realm—quiet, infinite, sacred.
As Henri Matisse once said,
“A certain blue enters your soul.”
#contemporaryart
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#FloralPainting
#TheSecretGardenSeries
#ArtWithMeaning
#BotanicalArt
#ColorInspiration
#artandsoul
The title of the piece is called: Fragments of Becoming
This piece is a meditation on how we are shaped—not all at once, but in fragments.
Each brushstroke, like a piece of mosaic, represents a moment: a choice, a memory, a turning point. Some are bright, others shadowed, but together they form the tapestry of who we are becoming.
In this image of mosaic fragments and color, I see the quiet beauty of transformation.
#contemporaryart
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#FloralPainting
#TheSecretGardenSeries
#ArtWithMeaning
#BotanicalArt
#NarrativePainting
#creativejourney
This is my tribute to Van Gogh’s Irises, a painting born from solitude, yet blooming with life.
In every brushstroke of yellow, I feel his pulse, the quiet resilience, the longing, the beauty found in stillness.
“Now the canvases from down there have arrived, the Irises have dried well and I dare believe that you’ll find something in them...”
— Vincent van Gogh, Letter 891
#contemporaryart
#abstractpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#VanGogh
#Irises
#ArtHomage
#VincentLetters
Blue is the color of divine revelation. It is the color of the sky and the sea, infinite and all-encompassing. It represents the spiritual realm, the unknown, and the divine mystery.”
Carl Jung
There’s something about blue that draws us inward and outward at once — into the depths of our own psyche and out toward the vastness of the cosmos.
#CarlJung
#ColorPsychology
#JungianThought
#ColorSymbolism
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#ModernArt
#ArtforCollectors
I primarily listen to music while I paint, and in many ways, I consider the musicians and composers to be co-authors of my work. Their music inspires and moves me, guiding my emotions and placing me in a creative trance where the act of painting becomes more fluid and intuitive. Sometimes, you listen to a piece of music repeatedly and eventually grow tired of it—but then there are those rare compositions you never tire of. One such piece for me is Der Wanderer by Michael Wollny—absolutely magical. It continues to stir something new in me every time I hear it.
As Oscar Wilde once said, “Music is the art... which most completely realizes the artistic idea and is the condition to which all the other arts are constantly aspiring.” This sentiment deeply resonates with me—music doesn’t just accompany my process; it elevates it.
#painting
#artandmusic
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
Today, I’m reflecting on all the people who shaped my artistic journey.
The good teachers, the tough ones, those who lifted me up—and even those who tried to tear me down. Each one left a mark on the artist I’m becoming. I’m still far from where I want to be, but I’m grateful for the path.
One memory stands out.
As a teen living in South Korea, I decided to take art lessons. That’s when I met a teacher whose name sounded like Chi Il D, though every time I said it, he and his assistant would burst into laughter. I never knew if it was his real name, but it stuck.
He tried to guide me through the academic method: starting with marble busts, learning contours and shading. But in my youthful arrogance, I told him I was a painter and didn’t want to “waste time” sketching statues. He humored me.
Despite the language barrier, he spoke no English; I spoke no Korean, I had the privilege of painting beside him. He was a master, working on massive canvases with quiet intensity. I learned so much just by watching.
His studio had wooden floors, a view of a serene Korean temple, soft natural light, and the scent of linseed oil in the air. Sometimes, he’d pause, glance at my amateurish work, and chuckle. Those moments are etched in my memory.
I don’t know what became of Chi Il Do but I carry his influence with me still.
#beauty
#aestheticexperience
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#modernpainter
#ArtistJourney
#Painting Memories
#creativeprocess
I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.
Claude Monet
#Monet
#beauty
#aestheticexperience
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#modernpainter
De Profundis: Echoes from the Deep at the Irving Art Center this Summer.
Although this piece isn’t part of The Secret Garden series, it marks the final painting in my De Profundis series. Titled “It Is What I Perceive,” it’s technically my first work of 2025, even though the series belongs to 2024.
I’m sharing it today because the De Profundis series will be on view at the Irving Arts Center in the Carpenter Lobby Gallery from July 12 through October 25, 2025.
#artshow
#artseries
#deprofundis
#irvingartscenter
#contemporaryart
#abstractpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
One of my favorite passages comes from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, where he reflects on the nature of art and the creative process:
“Go into yourself and test the deeps in which your life takes rise; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create. Accept it, just as it sounds, without inquiring into it. Perhaps it will turn out that you are called to be an artist. Then take that destiny upon yourself and bear it, its burden and its greatness.”. #rainermarilarilke
#beauty
#aestheticexperience
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#modernpainter
Beauty is more than surface. It unsettles, awakens, and transforms.
Rilke wrote, “For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are still just able to endure…”—reminding us that beauty often holds power beyond comfort. It confronts us with the mystery of life and the vastness of feeling.
We need beauty not because it soothes us, but because it calls us to feel more deeply, to live more fully.
#rainermarilarilke
#beauty
#aestheticexperience
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#modernpainter
I’m endlessly inspired by the beauty and complexity of nature. From the birth and death of stars to glowing bioluminescent creatures, from insects that metamorphose into winged wonders to the thousands of orchids species—nature never ceases to astonish me. It fuels my passion for painting and deepens my awe with every detail.
“Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more.”
Vincent Van Gogh
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#makeart2024
#ModernArt
#ArtforCollectors
______
Keys to the garden under a pink moon
This piece is about the beauty and resilience we each carry within. The secret garden is our inner world—always capable of blooming again. The phoenix rises from its own ashes, just as we rise from grief, loss, and change. Nettle, with its sting and strength, reminds us to keep going.
I painted the pink moon because one just passed—named for spring blooms, not color. The moon reflects light rather than creating it, and that’s what we do too—shine for one another.
“Don’t you know yet? It is your Light that lights the worlds.” — Rumi
#contemporaryart #symbolism #phoenixrising #pinkmoon #healingjourney #artistsoninstagram #gardenwithin #Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#CarlJung
“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” – Carl Jung
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#CarlJung
I’ve rediscovered The Secret Garden, a timeless tale of grief, healing, and transformation. At its heart, it is a story about changing the negative core beliefs we hold about ourselves and nurturing the hidden, untended spaces within us. Like the garden in the story, we each have an inner sanctuary that, if cultivated with care, allows us to grow and connect deeply with others.
As Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.”
This novel reminds us that beauty—both in nature and within ourselves—has the power to heal and renew.
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
“If one truly loves nature, one finds beauty everywhere.”
Vincent Van Gogh
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#makeart2024
#ModernArt
#ArtforCollectors
Nature mirrors our inner world—the colors of a flower the quiet of a forest, the vastness of the sky, the rhythm of the tides.
When we immerse ourselves in its beauty, we find space to listen, to heal, and to grow.
“The only journey is the one within.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
#Rilke
#HealingInNature
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#makeart2024
#ModernArt
#ArtforCollectors
Flowers speak in a silent language, their colors weaving stories of longing, joy, and transformation. Some bloom with quiet grace, others with wild exuberance, but each carries the essence of something deeper—emotion made visible, a whisper from the soul of nature.
Like flowers, we unfold in seasons, our hues shifting with time, revealing the ever-changing landscape of who we are.
“Colors are the mother tongue of the subconscious.” – Carl Jung
#ColorSymbolism
#FlowerLanguage
#CarlJung
#NatureSpeaks
#FlowerSymbolism
#EmotionsInBloom
#NatureAndSoul
#ArtAndMeaning
#Flowerpainting
#painting
#oilpainting
#naturepainting
#organicpainting
#art
#dallasart
#dallasartist
#contemporaryart
#artlover
#modernpainter
#makeart2024
#ModernArt
#ArtforCollectors
